Russell Crowe's "Noah" Is Haram According to Some Muslims

The latest Russell Crowe film "Noah" is haram (forbidden) according to one niqab-clad British woman on YouTube, because as a prophet of Islam he should not be portrayed in an shape or form. Guess no-one informed her that Noah's time predates Islam, so they don't have dibs on him.

In her video, she explains why Muslims should not watch the movie:

This is a Response to Hollywood who are releasing a Film this week about Noah (as) claiming that he was an animal rights activist and environmentalist. BUT Who is the REAL Noah? What was his REAL Message? Why were the People Destroyed?

Answers you need to find out the Truth to save yourself from the Storm.

All but one commenter agrees.

Emad Adel:

don't worry.. I'll watch it because I'm Tunisian, and it's Halal for us

Watch if you can bear to just look at her eyes.

This guy has three reasons why he refuses to watch the movie, and urges other Muslims to follow his lead.

Al Qaeda Militants Get the Spa Treatment For Rehab

In the hopes of rehabilitating Al Qaeda terrorists, incarcerated militants will be getting first class prison accommodations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They'll be getting spa treatments, exercise in an Olympic-sized indoor pool, access to a sauna, gym, a TV room, and even 2 day conjugal visits with their wives (if they're good), along with the intense counseling officials hope will make them nicer people.

The new complex is the work of the Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care, a body set up seven years ago to rehabilitate extremists jailed during a Saudi crackdown on the local branch of Al-Qaeda.

“Just under 3,000 [Islamist prisoners] will have to go through one of these centers before they can be released,” interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told AFP during a tour of the new center.

They have so many militants, there are plans for three more facilities to add to the two that already exist. The other one is in Jeddah, but the Riyadh one is the luxury facility which will house 228 inmates, all from the "deviant group", a euphemism for Al-Qaeda extremists.

The plan for those 228 lucky ones:

During the day, the prisoners will attend seminars on religious affairs, aimed at steering them away from thoughts of jihad.

“In order to fight terrorism, we must give them an intellectual and psychological balance... through dialogue and persuasion,” said the director of the rehabilitation centers, Said al-Bishi.

He said a total of 2,336 Al-Qaeda prisoners have now been through Saudi rehabilitation schemes.

“The percentage of those who rejoin the deviant minority does not exceed 10 percent,” Bishi said, a proportion he described as “encouraging.”

Of course, there are detractors who believe that the religious counseling part of the rehabilitation programme is too similar to Al-Qaeda's, and that there have been those who returned to the jihadist battlefield, like Saeed al-Shehri, after being 'rehabilitated.' I guess the allure of jihad and the eventual 72 virgins has more appeal than all those massages, laps around the pool, and those conjugal visits with one of their wives might have.

Social scientist Khaled al-Dakheel told AFP:

“We cannot know if the program will succeed in eradicating terrorism and extremism."

“There must be pluralism and an acknowledgement of the rights of others to be different.”

That certainly doesn't exist in Saudi Arabian Wahhabism.

Source: Al Arabiya.

"Valentine, Infidel Culture" - Some Muslim Killjoys Claim

Protest in Karachi, 2012

The 'day of love' is celebrated around the world on February 14th, not for its Christian religious roots, but because it's a great way to let those you love- family, friends, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends- know how much you appreciate them. People traditionally exchange Valentine cards, flowers, chocolate, with the predominant color being red. But not in Saudi Arabia, where the ever- present, ever ready to rain on any parade religious police are on the look out for anything of that color, or anything else for that matter, that could potentially be given as a gift. Apparently they're okay at any other time of the year, not just around February 14th.

Why?

Because Valentine's Day is banned in Saudi Arabia.

Why?

Because it is viewed as a Christian religious holiday, and as we all know the oh-so tolerant Saudi Kingdom doesn't allow anyone to publicly celebrate any religious holiday other than Islamic ones. The bizarre thing is no-one, anywhere, attributes any religious connotation to the holiday, these days. I actually forgot it was also called Saint Valentine's Day because it's a term that is rarely used, opting for the more secular term Valentine's Day. Although it's probably consumerism at its worst, it's a relatively harmless holiday, and certainly not religious.

But it's not just the Saudis that ban V Day. While most of the world enjoys participating in a pretty innocuous celebration of love, the usual kill joys have, as expected, popped up in places like Pakistan, where some believe it's un-Islamic. Right, because Mohammed told his followers not to send someone some roses and chocolates to demonstrate their undying love for that person.

During the week, Some Pakistanis celebrated Valentine’s Day with balloons and flowers, but others denounced the holiday as an insult to Islam.

In the port city of Karachi, home to 18 million people, billboards decorated with a black heart urged citizens to “SAY NO TO VALENTINE'S DAY,” Reuters reported.

“This tradition reflects insensitivity, indignity and ignorance of Islam,” the signs read. They were put up by a group affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious political party that holds six of 342 legislative seats told Reuters.

“Teenagers see it as a time to express love and affection and they often end up in sex parties, like in the West.”

According to Syed Askari, a spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami, “Valentine’s is against Islamic culture. In our view, relationships are sacred. We have arranged marriages in this culture and people don’t get married for love.”

“This is imposing Western values and cultures on an Islamic society,” he added.

The spokesman derided the West, warning that Muslim countries shouldn’t turn like them.

“Look at the West - people love their dogs but throw their parents out when they get old. We don't want to be like that.”

And to show just how insulted they were, women in Peshawar burned Valentine's cards, because burning things is fun, and being hateful is far more appealing to them than embracing love.

Indonesian conservatives believe the same thing, that celebrating Valentine's Day leads to premarital sex and "sex parties". I don't ever recall sex parties after receiving V Day cards in my youth. But conservative Indonesians are convinced, so Valentine's Day was banned in the conservative regions.

The Head of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in Depok, Habib Idrus Al Gadhri, declared the day “haram” (forbidden) for Muslims, claiming it is part of the culture of “infidels.”

“It’s Western culture and immoral so it's ironic Muslims celebrate it,” he said.

That didn't stop hotels and businesses in Indonesia from participating in the festivities.

In Eastern Java, young girls decided to change February 14 to "headscarf day", and while carrying banners with “Valentine, Infidel Culture”, they handed out information on why both sexes should dress modestly.

In other places, including the more cultured and moderate Islamabad, business was booming.

“Valentine’s Day is good for business,” said grinning Mohammed Ajmar to Reuters as he handed a customer a huge heart made of red roses and glitter.

Even in Iran, where the holiday is banned because of its Western roots, people were celebrating, in spite of the threat of sanctions and shops being shut down for selling red roses.

It's an international day of love, which this world needs more of.

IB Times discusses the countries which frown upon or outright ban the holiday.

Maine Mayor Tells Somali Muslims To Assimilate

I was recently in Portland, Maine and was quite surprised to discover that all the housekeeping staff in my motel were Somali Muslims. Though bedecked in their hijabs, most did show some arm skin from the elbow down; I suppose when you're cleaning toilets keeping long sleeves clean would be a chore. I saw a few more scattered throughout the city, so I googled Somalis in Maine and discovered that Lewiston, Maine has a sizable Somali population. They started arriving there about 11 or so years ago, and now number around  6,000. Lewiston's total population is a little under 37,000. That's a little over 15%.  I knew Minnesota had a very large Somali community, but was surprised to find so many in Maine.

Ironically, the day I arrived home I found the following video in my YouTube subscription channel. Lewiston Mayor Bob MacDonald is in the news again for calling upon the Somalis to assimilate.

"If you want to come in here and you want to celebrate your holidays, I don't care, I don't care. Just don't try to insert your culture, which obviously isn't working, into ours, which does."

And he's absolutely right. When we move to countries like Saudi Arabia women are forced to assimilate immediately by being required to wear head scarves and abayas. Their women should be required to do the same thing in the West. No-one is asking them to totally give up their culture, but Lewiston is not in Somalia, and they should at least try to integrate.

Even though the women at the motel weren't very friendly, I still left them a nice tip.

It Is Not Racist To Criticize Islam

I love this: the many faces of Islam. Blacks, Whites, Asians and a slew of other ethnicities.

There are those who love to label 'criticism of Islam' as racist, but bottom line, since a religion is not a race or ethnicity it's ludicrous to call it that.  Claiming someone sucks because of the color of their skin is definitely racist, claiming their religion sucks is not.

Equally asinine is calling people Islamophobic. We do not have a phobia or fear of Islam, per se, although we might fear the extremist adherents of that religion whose favorite pastime is to maim and kill fellow human beings. But no, looking at a Quran or even at a niqab-clad woman does not send me into irrational and excessive fear of said object. It does not cause me anxiety and stress. It does not make me fear for my life, though I might wonder what that niqab woman is hiding under her robes. I might find some of the teachings and the clothing some women are either forced or choose to wear distasteful, but no fear.

So come up with something better, please.

Kabul Actresses Who Were Attacked Face Prison Time

Ahmad Masood/Reuters

As an actress, the following news cuts to the core. I know it's way past time to pull out of Afghanistan, especially in light of the massive increase in "green on blue" killings. That country is a lost cause.  I had hoped not, especially for the sake of the women, but things aren't going to change, and they continue to worsen.

Three Afghan TV actresses, two of them sisters, were attacked near Kabul. The two sisters, Tamana and Areza, survived. Benafsha was not so lucky. Apparently, people didn't like the "immodest" clothing they wore on the various TV programmes they performed on.

"I didn't see the TV programme, I just heard the local boys saying that one of them played a role with boys," said Yaqin Ali Khalili, owner of a shop that the women frequented. "The hatred of the people here is the reason she was killed, I am 100% sure," he added.

The girls lived in a conservative neighbourhood, and after taunts, threats and criticism they decided to move. As they approached a minivan that contained all of their belongings, they were attacked by 6 men. Benafsha died from her stab wounds, outside a mosque.

The attack, rather than being condemned by Kabul citizens simply encouraged people to level threats against other actresses.

One prominent young actress, Sahar Parniyan, received death threats and has gone into hiding. On the rare occasions she still ventures out she has to wear the burqas she used to despise. "The threats were in calls at midnight, or 2am when I was deep asleep, using very bad words and repeating 'you will be next for assassination'," Parniyan told the Guardian in an interview at a secret location. "I cannot continue my life as an actress in Afghanistan, although I love my job. The Taliban are against women, but so are other groups … Afghanistan is not made for women, whether actresses or not."

But the actual attack isn't even the worst of it. As is typical in a conservative Muslim society, female victims are victimized twice.  No sooner were the two sisters treated at a hospital, they were dragged to prison where they will undergo virginity tests, and possibly could be charged with prostitution or "collusion".

 "We have already sent them to the forensic office to do an examination, to make clear whether these girls are having illegal relations with anyone," said prosecutor Ghulam Dastegir Hedayat, responsible for western Kabul, where the killing took place.

No-one knew they were performers, not even their landlord, because Afghan society frowns upon female actors. They apparently claimed they did laundry so as not to cause problems for themselves. Islamic society also deems females without  male chaperones as questionable in character, which is why they were hauled off to jail. But the sad fact is that even if the sisters had wanted the protection of a male relative, they didn't have that option since they were orphans. The girl who was murdered happened to be divorced.

According to Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch:

"Women living in a house together without male relatives is very unusual and the police and neighbours all seem to imagine that in a situation like that they are running a brothel. We came across quite a few cases where behaviour that the police didn't approve of seems to have turned into a crime and a long prison sentence. And certainly any woman who is not under the control of or vouched for by a husband or male family member is deemed immoral."

So, Tamana and Areza could wind up spending years in jail for "moral crimes", while the men walk free.  But that's also typical. The authorities are, of course, trying to blame it on the girls because Muslim men are never guilty of anything.

While police and prosecutors claimed the women were not attacked for being actors, they suggested the assault was prompted by their work and living arrangements. "The result of our investigation is that she was not killed because they work in television, the six people who killed her were threatening the group one or two days before with the aim of getting them to agree to illegal relations," said Hedayat, the prosecutor.

One police officer, who wanted to remain anonymous, is convinced they were prostitutes because they were not educated, and believes that they were attacked because they probably refused to have sex with the men:

"To feed themselves they have to find money. Where do they get it from?" "This wasn't a people's attack on them, it was just something between some groups and the women … when there is a request to the females and they refuse, this kind of thing happens."

Really?  This just shows how supremely ignorant and chauvinistic Muslim males can be. First of all if they were prostitutes and in need of money, why would they refuse to have sex with a john? And the refusal of sex justifies physical violence and imprisonment of the victims? And lastly, whose fault is it that Afghan women are uneducated?

It's too bad that all the Muslim women in the West who enjoy hiding behind their burqas, hijabs and niqabs, and their uber conservative ways aren't forced to switch places with the women in countries like Afghanistan who yearn for freedom.

Afghanistan is a backward, God forsaken, blight on this earth. And that's never going to change.

Mali Islamist Militants Ban Secular Western Music

Muslim extremists are slowly taking over Africa. Northern Mali, home of the famed city of Timbuktu, struggled with an Islamic insurgency, and sadly lost. It is now run by Islamists and they're starting to establish Shariah law there. Women have already been forced to wear head scarves, and now the only music that will be allowed on the air waves must be religious in nature. Singing Quranic verses is okay, everything else is banned. That means no Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber allowed because Western non-Muslim lyrics are Satanic.

The spokesperson for the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), Oussama Ould Abdel Kader, said that:

“We, the mujahideen of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal from now on refuse the broadcasting of all western music on radios on Islamic land."

“We have already spoken to people who own the radio stations. We no longer want Satan’s music. Instead there must be verses of the Koran. Western music is Satanic music.”

because

“sharia demands it.”

Although MUJAO only rules Gao, Kader was speaking on behalf of all the lovely al-Qaeda-linked jihadists including Ansar Dine that have overrun that region like rats since the March 22, 2012 military coup. Thanks to that coup, the Mali northerners' lives have changed, for the worse.

Besides banning smoking and drinking,and forcing women to wear hijab,

In recent weeks the Islamists have stepped up the application of sharia, stoning an unmarried couple to death and cutting off the hand of a thief.

They also systematically destroyed ancient treasures in Timbuktu, which happened to be Islamic.

Mali is headed the route of Somalia, at least the al-Shabaab run areas.

Very sad.

Talkback With The Taliban- Ask your questions on an on-line forum

Barbaric, most definitely, but the Taliban apparently aren't as backwards as we might think.   Believe it or not, they actually have a website "The Voice of Jihad" up and running with options  in Dari, Arabic, English, Pashto, Farsi and Urdu. And wanna get as up close and personal with a Taliban militant as you can without actually traveling to that God forsaken land?  Any burning questions you have for those enlightened souls?  They have a forum where you can ask any question you want.  According to The Guardian,  people in the 'Your questions and Zabihullah Mujahid's answers' forum  are mostly concerned about the Taliban's decision to conduct secret 'talks' with the U.S. considering they still have the upper hand.

Questioner Ahmad Ahsan said Taliban supporters had long trusted the leadership but a proposal to open an office in Qatar for talks with foreigners was causing disquiet.

"We have always believed in our leaders and elders. Now we are restless in our minds," Ahsan wrote in the Pashto language.

Mujahid defended the decision, saying the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – the name the Taliban use for their movement – was led by Mullah Omar, a "person who had proved himself to the world" and that was enough.

He said the Taliban remained steadfast in their objectives. "Leave the rest to Allah and pray," he wrote.

Madiha Khalid from Germany, asked what would happen to girls' schools if the Taliban came back. The Taliban banned girls from school during their hardline rule.

But Mujahid blamed a lack of funds to ensure girls' schools were run according to Islamic tenets.

"We want our mothers and sisters to have education according to Islamic framework," he said.

Lack of funds? Really? School girls have suffered terribly at the hands of the Taliban, from poison to acid attacks, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

But it might be fun to ask a question or two- not that you'd necessarily get an answer. And the forum isn't in English, and translating the page doesn't get you much other than a bunch of squiggles with a few paragraphs of English here and there, so even Mujahid did respond, it's unlikely it would be translatable.

Muslim Student Chef Gets Concession To Not Taste Pork, Wine Dishes

I will be the first to condemn any Muslim unwilling to integrate or for attempting to impose their religious dictates on the rest of us. But every once in a while I come across a story that I can actually relate to, like the problems Ikram Korkmaz had at his culinary school in Valby, Denmark. Korkmaz is a Turkish Muslim who was told by the school administration that if he didn't taste any of the dishes that contained alcohol or pork he would not graduate. The college even brought in an imam to convince Korkmaz that it was okay, but he still refused. Schooled in Turkey, Korkmaz said,

“Perhaps some Muslim students believed what that imam said and tasted pork, but I will never do so,” he told Today’s Zaman.

After trying to reason with the various school officials, Korkmaz eventually complained to the Education Ministry and came out the winner.  According to Mette Klingsey Møller, spokesperson for the Ministry, the school has now made a concession for Korkmaz (and others who might have similar problems with certain foods) whereby other students can taste the dishes for them.

According to The Copenhagen Post, both the leftist Enhedslisten party and the right-wing Dansk Folkeparti actually agreed, for the first time, on the issue.

“It is a completely crazy case,” Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, the spokesperson of Enhedslisten, told public broadcaster back in February. “I expect that the Education Ministry will take action right away. I also do not think that you can tell a lactose-intolerant person that he or she cannot become a chef.”

“It seems odd not to want to taste the food that one is going to serve,” added Dansk Folkeparti deputy leader Peter Skaarup. “But it can never become a requirement, to make someone eat or taste something specific.”

And I do too. As a vegetarian, non-drinker, I would not want to be forced to taste meat or alcohol-doused dishes of any kind. You might then say, then don't go to culinary school. But if I chose to become a vegetarian chef, I would still need to learn the basics. And, those with dietary health restrictions, as Schmidt-Nielson said- are you going to tell them they can't become chefs? There have been many times I have turned down commercial auditions because I would have had to eat meat. Does that mean I shouldn't have become an actress?

I honestly don't think that the student chef was politicizing the issue, unlike the UK MPs who insisted they get halal meat on the menu at Westminster eateries, and am glad the college made this exception.

H/T Islam In Europe

After Attack On Its Embassy In Iran Britain Closes Iranian Embassy and Gives Staff 48 Hours To Leave

I was under the impression that the Iranian people (especially the youth) were fed up with the lack of freedom and major oppression they've been subjected to for the  past 30 plus years. After all, wasn't it mostly students who initially galvanized the pro-democracy "Green Movement" in 2009 after what was deemed a fraudulent presidential election?   But there are still those who are so mired in that backward, Islamist mentality, that they would rather live under subjugation than live in a free society. Witness the students who attacked two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran, vandalizing and destroying property and shouting the usual "Death to" England mantra, all in full view of the Iranian police who did pretty much nothing at first.  Unlike the pro-democracy crowd who risked everything to protest against a repressive regime, these students love their religious masters.

The demonstrations were reported to have been staged by a new pro-regime group called The Muslim Students Followers of the Supreme Leader. They were protesting against tough new financial sanctions imposed by London last week over Iran's nuclear programme.

And though I believe that the attack could not have taken place without government knowledge and approval, officials deny any involvement.  One Tehran University associate professor, Mohammad Marandi,  claims that

 “It was planned and organized by the students but it was not something that came from the government. The students were telling me days before that they were planning to be there in large numbers. They said some students would try (to storm the embassy),” he said. “I don’t think the government is happy with what happened.”

But that seems unlikely.

Britain has now retaliated by closing down its Embassy in Tehran, removed all personnel for their own safety, and has ordered the closure of the Iranian Embassy in London. Iranian diplomats have 48 hours to leave the country. I say, good for the Brits!

 Not surprisingly, Iran has responded with what they do best- veiled threats.

“The British government’s asking Iranian diplomats in London to leave this country is a passive and hasty action,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in statements emailed to AFP.

“Obviously the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will take reciprocal action in this regard and holds the British government responsible for protecting the diplomatic properties and belongings in London,” he added.

“What happened at the British embassy in Tehran was unpredictable. It occured due to the anger of some demonstrators over Britain’s policies regarding the Islamic republic,” Mehmanparast said.  He noted that none of the British diplomats were hurt and said the judiciary was “dealing” with the “violators.”

Right, unlike many of the pro-democracy activists who are still rotting in jail, nothing will happen to these pro-regime thugs; and since Britain is a civilized country, nothing will happen to the  personnel or the property belonging to the Iranian Embassy.

It's hard to imagine that there are still people who are pro-Ahmadinejad, pro-Mullahs. Then again, it was  the Persians themselves who ushered in those dark years of Islamism back in the late 70s when they actually voted for an Islamic Republic.